Shoe-ironing apparatus.



EXECUTRiX.

SHOE KRONING APPARATUS.

APPLICAHOH FILED FEB-17.1916.

H. ASHTOIi,

Patentefi Oct. 23, 191?.

" an ion.

ORBELL ASHTON, DECEASED, LATE OF SWAIVIPSCOIT, IMASSACHUSETTS, BY HANNAH ASHTON, EXECUTRIK, OF SWAMPSGOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON,'NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW zrnnsnr.

SHOE-IRONING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 17, 1916. Serial No. 78,931.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that ORRELL Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, deceased, invented certain Improvements in Shoe-Ironing Apparatus, of which the following description,

in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. v

This invention relates to apparatus for use in treating portions of a shoe after the lasting operation in order to cause the shoe ma terials to conform more closely'to the shape of the last and to prepare the shoe for subsequent manufacturing operations, and more particularly to ironing apparatus by the use of which the materials may be rubbed and pressed in the presence of heat to shape them as required.

In the manufacture of some types of shoes, such as McKay, shoes and welt shoes, in which the upper materials must to some eX- tent be folded or plaited over the margin of the innersole at the toe and the heel in the lasting operation, it is a matter of considerable difliculty to render the folds sufficiently flat upon the bottom of the innersole to permit a close attachment of the sole or the welt, as well as to shape the upper in close conformity to the lateral surface of the last adjacent to the edge of the shoe bottom. In the manufacture of welt shoes, moreover, the folds in the upper increase the difiiculty of conforming the upperto the angle between the lip and the feather edge of the innersole in such manner as to insure a close attachment of the upper and the welt to the innersole lip. In order to overcome these difficulties it has been found of advantage after the lastingoperation to rub and press portions of the upper upon and adjacent to the margin of the shoe bottom by the use of a heated instrument. Other portions .of the upper also, particu-. larly at the sides and at the top of the forepart of the shoe, are frequently treated with advantage by the use of a heated ironing tool in order to shrink and smooth the leather into close conformity to the contour of the last.

It is an object of this invention to provide an ironing apparatus of improved construction arrangedto permit different portions AsrrroN, late of of lasted shoes to be presented in convenient position for effective treatment. Although the construction herein shown is particularly adapted for use in the manufacture of shoes of the McKay or the welt type, it will be understood that many of the features of the invention are of more general application to the treatment of various types of shoes.

An important feature of the invention consists in a novel combination and arrangement of means for ironing the materials upon or adjacent to the margin of the bottom of a lasted shoe and means for ironing portions of theupper over the top of the last, constructed to facilitate the manipulation .of the shoe and the presentation of the shoe to the different means in succession. In the use of the construction herein shown the shoe may be presented in a substantially upright position for treatment of the materials either on or adjacent to the margin of the shoe bottom or on the top of the fore partof the last, so that the shoe may be readily transferred from one ironing means to the other; and by reason of this construc tion the materials on the margin of the shoe bottom, where a relatively great pressure is desirable for thepurpose of smoothing and flattening the folds of the upper, may be treated to the best advantage through downwardly directed pressure on the ironing means. This arrangement, moreover, enables the operator, while presenting the shoe to the bottom ironing means, to ascertain conveniently, by pressure of his thumbs upon the upper over the forepart of the last, whether this portion of the upper requires ironing to cause it to conform closely to the last, and if such ironing is found to be re quired the shoe may then be presented without inconvenience or loss of time to the appropriate ironing means.

The above and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus inwhich the invention is embodied,

Fig. 2 is a view of the ironing means in transverse section, illustrating two different Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

2 menace positions of a shoe presented to said means, and

3 shows in detail a portion of the means for heating the ironing device.

The apparatus, in the form shown, is adapted to be supported upon a work bench or other suitable :means of support by an arm 2 secured to the bench, but the apparatus may form, if desired, a portion of a machine having means for pounding the shoe or for performing other operations thereon. The ironing means comprises upper and lower members i and 6 respectively, which may be formed integral but in the construction shown are separate and are secured together by screws 8 in engagement with flanges lo and l on the respective members, the member a being secured to the arm 2 by means of screws ll. A layer 16 of asbestos or like material is interposed between the arm and the member at in order to conserve the heat. The heating medium in the illustrated construction comprises a gas flame which is directed inwardly from a nozzle 18 on a supply pipe :20 through a pipe that projects through an opening in the end of the member 6 into the chamber formed by the members i and 6. The pipe is supported on a bracket 2% clamped to the pipe 20, and is open at the end adjacent to the nozzle for the admission of the air necessar to support combustion. At its in ner end the pipe is closed by a plug :26, and in the side of the pipe are a plurality of slots 28 to direct the products of combus tion against the member 6. The heated air and gases will thus constantly fill the chamber formed by the members at and 6, escaping finally through outlets 30 and 32 in the respect-lye meml'iers.

The member 4, in the construction shown, is formed to present an ironing face as lying substantially in a horizontal plane and having a concavely curved front edge 35, and an upright face 36 concavely curved in substantially parallel relation to the curved edge 35 of the face 3 1. The face 34: is thus adapted to iron the materials on the margin of the bottom of a lasted shoe and the face 36 to engage and iron simultaneously portions of the upper on the side of the shoe adjacent to the bottom edge. F or ironing a McKay shoe the face 8% may be of any width desired, but in the construction illustrated this face is of suitable width to permit its front edge 35 to press the upper into the anglebetween the lip and the feather edge of a welt shoe innersole simultaneously with the engagement of the face 36 Wltl1 the surface of the upper at the side of the shoe, as shown in Fig. The faces 34: and '36, as thus disposed, are in position to facilitate greatly the ironing of the material on the bottom of the shoe, since they permit the shoe to be pressed downwardly against the face he as well as forwardly against the face 36, in a manner particularly convenient for the op erator, and the arrangement permitting downward and forward pressure of the shoe is also of great advantage in creasing the upper of welt shoe in the angle between the. feather and the lip of the innersole. The curve of the portion 3% of the device and the corresponding curve of the face 36, moreover, are of material assistance to the operator in manipulating the shoe, since these portions of the device as thus formed not only approximate the curve of the portions of the work presented for treatment and it will be observed by reference to Fig.

2 that in the shoe presented to the ironing member a the upper materials do not conform as closely as they should to the top of the forepart of the last. in order to remedy this condition, which is sometimes met with in lasted shoes, it is desirable to rub and press the uppe'over the last with a heated ironing tool,'and in the construction shown the tool 6 below the member el is provided for this purpose. This tool presents an ironing face conveXly curved about a substantially horizontal axis extending longitudinally of the member l, and as thus formed is adapted to engageand iron the upper, particularly over the top of the forepart of the last. It will be apparent by reference to Fig. 2 that this arrangement facilitates the transfer of the shoe from one ironing portion of the device to the other, since after treatment of the shoe by the ironing faces of the member l it is only necessary to lower the shoe to present it to the member '6, and that in the treatment of the top of the 'forepart of the upper the shoe may be in a substantially upright position in ironing the margin of the bottom. The illustrated construction and arrangement, moreover, permits the operator, while presenting the shoe for treatment by the ironing faces 34 and 36, to ascertain readily by pressure of his thumbs, which in holding the shoe will be positioned upon the upper over the top of the last, whether the condition of this portion of the upper requires treatment by the ironing member 6, and if such treatment is foundto be required, the shoe may then be readily and quickly presented in position to receive it.

It will be understood that except as required by the express terms of the claims the invention is not to be regarded as li-m- (lore engage the work effectively,butv

ited precisely to the illustrated form of the ironing faces nor to other precise details of the construction shown.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, means for ironing the materials on the margin of the bottom of a lasted shoe, said means being arranged to permit the shoe to be presented in a substantially upright position for downward pressure against the ironing means, and means below said ironing means constructed and arranged to iron the top portions of the upper on the forepart of the shoe presented likewise in a substantially Cir upright position.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, an ironing device having a substantially horizontal upwardly facing ironing surface shaped for engagement with the margin of the bottom of a lasted shoe and a second downwardly facing ironing surface curved upwardly at both the front and the back of the tool to permit the top of the forepart of the shoe to be ironed with the shoe presented in a substantially upright position, and means for heating said ironing device.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, an ironing device having an ironing face shaped for engagement with the margin of the bottom of a lasted shoe and positioned to enable the operator to press his thumbs upon the upper over the fprepart of the last to ascertain the condition of the upper with reference to the last while presenting the shoe for treatment, said device having another face below said first mentioned face for ironing the upper over the forepart of the last, and means for heating said ironing device.

at. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, an ironing device having an ironing face positioned substantially in a horizontal plane and shaped for engagement with the margin of the bot- I tom of a lasted shoe and a second ironing face for engaging the top of the forepart of the shoe, said second face being positioned below said first named face and convexly curved about a substantially hori-, zontal axis extending longitudinally of said first named face to permit the shoe to be presented thereto in a substantially upright position, and means for heating said ironing device.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, an ironing device having a portion shaped for ironing a lasted shoe adjacent to the bottom edge line of the shoe and arranged to permit a shoe to be presented in a substantially upright position for treatment, said device having another portion below said first named por tion presenting a convex downwardly facing surface for engagement with the top of the forepart of the shoe with the shoe presented in a substantially upright position, the two portions of the tool being con structed and arranged to provide an interior heating chamber, and means for directing a gas flame into said chamber.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HANNAH ASHTON, Eweeutrtm of the will of Orwell Ashton.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

